Death in space is tragic and necessary

9:11 AM,
Feb. 3, 2014

Written by

Rand Simberg

China's first lunar rover has broken down less than a month after landing, done in by the moon's harsh dusty environment. The loss, while big for China, is trivial compared with U.S. losses.

Since 1967, the last week of January has been rough for NASA. Jan. 27 was the 47th anniversary of the death of three astronauts on the pad in the Apollo 1 fire. Jan. 28 was the 28th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, with the loss of a shuttle orbiter and seven crewmembers. Saturday, was the 11th anniversary of the loss of Columbia, which broke up over Texas with all aboard.